Posts Tagged ‘keyboard’

3 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Music Lessons

Whether you are using a book, video, a real live human, or online lessons, keep these pointers in mind in order to get the most out our your studies.

1. Complete and master each section before moving on to the next: As you work through your studies make sure you have each new technique or idea conquered before moving on to the next. Lessons are planned to build upon each other and trying to rush through without fully understanding one will just lead to frustration and wasted efforts.

2. Study as if you were in school. Do some homework every night. If all you have is 15 minutes then use those 15 minutes. If you don’t have time to read/watch and apply then do the application of your last lesson or drills such as scales and chords. Reading/watching and not having the opportunity to apply immediately will usually mean you have to relearn your lesson. Take notes. Especially if you’re watching a video or working with a human. Also don’t be afraid to write all over your workbooks and sheet music.

3. Apply what you’ve learned: Play for others. Your church, your family, that spare piano sitting in your favorite department store (ask first). Nothing drives a music lesson home better than a recital. It will also magnify what you need to work on.

These tips work whether your a child or an adult. Learning to play an instrument is a wonderful activity.

Tips To Help You Choose A Keyboard That Will Provide The Best Musical Experience

Keyboards come in a variety of sizes with various bells and whistles depending on your needs. Of course, this also means they come in a wide price range, so it’s important to weigh up what you need with what you can afford, as well as ensuring you get the best value for money. Whether it’s your first ever keyboard, or you’re simply adding to your existing collection, it’s imperative that you ask a few key questions before you buy any model.

Firstly, you should ensure your keyboard is a full-sized model. Keyboards range from around half-sized for kids right up to full sized keys covering a number of octaves. It is important that you make sure your keyboard is full size if you are serious about learning. The smaller sized keyboards will keep you going if you’re learning how to play, but soon enough you will require the full range of keys as you tackle more complex or involved pieces. Unless you want to have to upgrade after six months, don’t opt for a smaller keyboard.

The next thing to think about is whether or not your keyboard includes a stand. If it does include a stand, great. If not, you’re going to have to buy one, so factor this into your costing. Additionally, consider whether the keyboard is touch-sensitive. A touch sensitive keyboard allows you to add your own dynamics, i.e. ‘louds and softs’ as you play, to give more texture to your piece. Traditionally keyboards are not touch sensitive, which means that regardless of how hard you press a key, it always produces the same note. Touch sensitivity may come at a price, but if your are looking for anywhere near performance quality, you should make sure your keyboard has it.

Finally, you should think about adding a protective case. This will ensure you can keep the keyboard protected from the elements and external damage during transit, or when you’re not using it. Additionally, this would benefit storage, making it easier to tuck the keyboard under the bed.

When it comes to buying a keyboard, there is no element more important than sitting down and trying it for yourself. Ask the salesman if it’s ok to have a go, and try out all the various functions. See if you like the set up, and see how easy it is to navigate the different effects. This will be the most influential step in making your decision, and should allow you, in combination with the above considerations, to figure out which keyboard is best for you.

The piano or the keyboard witch is better to learn

If your choosing to play the keyboard, learn that it has many advantages over learning how to play the piano. Tho’ you may think studying one is as easy as the other, the keyboard as an musical instrument is outstanding in a lot of ways.On a piano, you just have one sort of musical instrument that you will be able to play and that is the piano. Keyboards permit you to mimic the sounds of a lot of divers musical instruments. A few costlier keyboards can mimic the sounds of 100’s of musical instruments and permit your to put down tracks, on the keyboard!While you study how to play the keyboard, you’re learning all of those musical instruments without being forced to take extra lessons. Sounds can include:

A lot of types of pianos

Percussive instruments

Organs of all sorts and likings

Stringed instruments (fiddle, viola, cello, contrabass)

Brass instruments (horn, tuba, trombone)

All of the woodwind instruments (clarinet, flute, sax)

Pipes

The sounds from a piano coming from a keyboard can sounds like a grand piano, electric piano, honky-tonk and a lot more! There could even be specific effects accessible like bird sounds, phone rings and additional novelty sounds.When you study on how to fiddle the keyboard, you will also get to select from a assortment of background sounds that can be attach to your primary tune. You will be able to select among the following:

Rock

Jazz

Pop

Dance

Latin

Hip-hop

More advanced keyboard models may have more choices.

if you’re a student playing the keyboard will get you of to a great start. There are keyboard versions that will display to you all notes that needs to be played next. It’s an comfortable technique of studying, that leads students into a better apprehension of music.The keyboard is smaller in size then a piano and there for more portable . A keyboard, if it is modest enough, can go anyplace with you. This makes it effortless to practise in different surroundings. Keyboards are cheaper and easier to find. Although pianos can be very expensive, you will be able to retrieve a keyboard for as cheap as in the classified advertisement or one a eBay auction site.

There are keyboards that have a higher prize tag because there are more complex But for a little investment you will be able to choose if playing the keyboard is really the thing for you. In the time to come, you’ll be able to upgrade your keyboard selection to a more featured keyboard.Learning to play the keyboard is one of the most painless and most amusing ways to get into the music. There are a lot of songs usable for the keyboard, and with exercise there’s no limitation to what you can play! You will be able to experiment a great deal with the keyboard; and even create your own single band, complete with beats, piano, trumpets, string instruments and potentially even your own voice. Who knows? You might even bring out a demo that you could send to a music producer. You can do it all with the keyboard!

How To Set Up a Home Recording Studio

Studios fall into three basic categories, Home studios, Project studios and Commercial studios. It’s pretty obvious what a home studio is. Many people working in the music industry, and even the TV and film industries, have their own studios at home. They put them in the spare room, the garage, the basement, an outhouse - even in a corner of a bedroom sometimes. And there is no reason why a home studio shouldn’t produce recordings that challenge top commercial facilities. Obviously in a top commercial studio helpful staff will make it easier for you to do your best work, the equipment and acoustics will be first class, and you will probably be working with top musicians too - there may even be a restaurant and bar! Of course the top studio is always going to be that little bit better - but it really is just a little bit. You can do professional work in a bedroom. Sometimes simplicity sells, and you don’t always need a twenty-four track studio to make a song demo or a soundtrack for a documentary.

There really isn’t any difference between a home studio and a so-called project studio. A home studio is a project studio that you have at home, so that’s easily dealt with. So what’s the difference between a project studio and a commercial studio? Simply, a commercial studio is available to all comers at an hourly or daily rate. Make a booking, do your stuff in the studio, pay the invoice and collect the tape. A project studio is something owned by one person, or maybe a partnership, where the owner or owners work on their own projects. The owner may be a musician working on a CD, or a composer working on a TV soundtrack. Commercial bookings are not welcome in a project studio because a) they are taking up studio time that the owner would probably rather use, and b) once you start hiring your studio out as a facility you become involved in many more health and safety regulations and your insurance premiums will probably go through the roof.

What people do in their project studios is of course literally their own business! But I have identified at least five distinct categories of project studio. Take a look at what you can achieve, if you have a mind to…

History and Role of the piano in the Modern World

The modern piano developed its form from two keyboard instruments, the clavichord and the harpsichord, which originated from early in music history. These keyboard instruments operate on the principle of direct connection between the applied force or pressure of the player on the keys, and the volume of sound. Meaning, the harder the pressure or force the player applies on the keys, the louder the sound of the instrument, the lighter the touch, the softer the sound.

Earlier musicians, however, encountered a problem with the clavichord and harpsichord: the sound was relatively diminutive as compared to how they would have wanted it to be, considering the fact that keyboard instruments were often played in large rooms (chambers), cathedrals and churches.

Around the year 1700, Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) created the new keyboard instrument and coined its name from the fact that it could both play “piano” (soft) and “forte” (loud), addressing the problem of the old keyboard instruments. Thus, the pianoforte, or what we call shortly now as the piano.

Aside from the direct connection between the fingers on the keys and the sound, the piano also has two different pedals which are the “sustain” or damper pedal and the “soft” pedal. The sustain pedal allows the pianist to hold the tone or sound even after releasing the key. The soft pedal veils or muffles the sound. There is also a third pedal called the “sostenuto” pedal. However, not all pianos have this.

Other kinds of keyboard instruments include the pipe organ which was most prominent from 1600-1750, when it was commonly used for church music and considered then as the “king of instruments”. The accordion is also another kind of keyboard instrument, as well as the modern organ and electric keyboard.

The role of the piano in the modern world is very versatile. The piano can cover a wide range of musical types from classical to pop to jazz. It can cater to a wide variety of audiences from music connoisseurs in concerts or artists in theatres, to children and pupils in pre-schools. Very noticeably too, piano students can very well play other instruments as well, even without its formal training.

The piano is also a very relevant tool in the culture of society. Since the turn of the 20th century, many households have been able to acquire their very own piano. From this assessment, we can infer that modern society believes in the benefits of studying music and piano in particular.

In almost every gathering (social, religious and even political), one cannot undermine the important role of music. It expresses ideals. It bonds the youth. It provides for a positive, productive & creative channeling for this generation’s aggression and collective angst.

The importance of music on the development of a person, and eventually, of society cannot be understated. Perhaps its time to rethink how this important element of cultural and social development in our society has been treated.


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